Not Even Azkaban Can Hold Me
by BellaCapucino
Summary: The Azkaban prisoner gave one last heaving sob, before crumpling under the pain of the memories. Azkaban had done what Voldemort failed to accomplish. Azkaban had finally broken Harry Potter. Or that was what they thought…
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: How? Well simple really, my former friends are all a bunch of worthless son of a bit… too much?

A shiver ran up his spine as the first dementor drew closer, the hooded figure approached the man relishing the unhappy memories. So many. _Such betrayal. Such abuse. So much lost._ Perfect. The dementors glided with ease towards the limp body. The man's once bright emerald eyes had dimmed to an almost murky color. They were unfocused and had an almost permanent glaze to them. The man's unkempt black mess of hair was now past his shoulders. He was skin stretched over bones.

He gave a throaty cough, and a wheezing breath before slumping against the slime covered wall of Azkaban prison. He was alone.

Dark unfocused hazel colored eyes were watching as The-Boy-Who-Lived slumped in defeat. The Azkaban prisoner remained watching the laboring breaths of the man before her. Her wild, untamed curly locks fell around her face, the moonlight lit up the face of the once beautiful women. Her face held no comptept or malice. Her face bore no mark of her usual sneer. Instead she looked at the raven-haired man with a mixture of intrigue and sadness. She was brought back to reality as she too felt the effects of the dementors take control.

Hell on earth. That's where Harry Potter, The-Boy-Who-Lived, The-Man-Who-Conquered, was. _They_ condemned him to it, _they_ reduced him to begging and pleading on the hard stone floor to the soul-sucking creatures. He was kept company by the screams of the insane. _They_ had done this to him. _They_ had led him to nights filled with maniacal laughter and tortured screaming.

_They_. He didn't know what else to refer to _them_ as. To him it didn't matter, according to him _they_ were all traitors. _They_ had thrown him in Azkaban after everything he had suffered and sacrificed for them. According to him the wizarding world didn't deserve to be free of the Dark Lord or his Death Eaters. They had thrown their own savior in Azkaban, with little to no evidence.

The wizarding world was built off rumors and lies. The lies were everywhere. Lies that swallowed up the truth until it was nothing more than a whisper. Until the truth itself was more outrageous than the lies.

Yes, the wizarding world had fabricated a perfect web of lies and rumors.

But that wasn't the worst part. It did in fact get worse.

How? Harry Potter was asking himself that same question. His best friends, his adopted family, the Order of Phoenix, everyone who had ever told him they'd be there for him. All of them, with a few exceptions, had thrown him in a cell in Azkaban. That wasn't even the worse part. Oh it got worse!

They had _testified_ against him. Flung insults at him. Admonished him. Threw him heart-breaking looks of disappointment and disgust.

The dementors no longer made him relieve the death of his parents, although that was still a frequent nightmare. The dementors made him relieve everywhere insult, every disgusted sneer everything his "friends" had thrown at him to get him where he was today. Azkaban. A life sentence in Azkaban. Every time the dementors came for him, he was reminded.

"_Harry James Potter, you have been sentenced to Azkaban for the pitiful time of a life sentence, for the use of dark magic, use of the unforgivables, and the murder of Rebeus Hagrid, Hogwarts staff member." Minister Fudge spoke with superiority and a sneer that said he was currently enjoying throwing the savior of the wizarding world in Azkaban._

He slumped against the wall in defeat.

"_Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger have willingly volunteered to testify."_

He gave a low groan of pain. Silent tears were now pouring down his already tear-stained cheek.

_I saw it by the way his eyes glazed over ever so slightly, the way he remained enraptured by the power the Dark Arts could give someone._

The limp body was no longer moving.

_How could you turn yourself over to the Dark Arts, how could you murder, how could you… Your parent's sacrifice was for nothing!_

Finally succumbing to the pain, Harry Potter let out an ear splitting scream as the memories flooded his senses.

_Everything we did was for you, we let you into our home, treated you like our own son, is this the way you repay us!_

Everything blurred together as he gave into the memories.

_You disgust me, how could you do it? We went through every bloody thing with you! Everything! It was always the three of us, you worthless son of a…_

The Azkaban prisoner gave one last heaving sob, before crumpling under the pain of the memories. Azkaban had done what Voldemort failed to accomplish. Azkaban had finally broken Harry Potter.

Or that was what _they_ thought…


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hi, thanks for adding me to story alerts and story favorites. Sorry about the rather short chapter, I know it was a little bit on the dramatic side. All chapters from now on will be between 1-2 thousand words. Please if you have any suggestions for future plot twists, or you'd like to see something in this story, have any questions etc. just PM me.**

**In this story all characters that died are alive such as, Remus, Moody/Mad-Eye, Tonks, Dumbledore, Fred (I just couldn't kill him off!) Sirius however is dead. There is going to be quite a bit of Ron and Hermione bashing.**

**Thanks, now on with the story.**

**Disclaimer: I know I forgot to disclaim in the last chapter/prologue! Well here it goes…**

**I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER! But I'm working on it… I have connections. **

**(Cackles evilly)**

Chapter 2: Ron for the love of Merlin stop interrupting!

Albus Dumbledore sat stalk still as people began filing into the room, a meeting like this hadn't been called in six years. Everyone was anxious.

The former Order of Phoenix seeped into the room in twos and threes, each with their respective partners. Dumbledore was ghostly pale, dark circles rimmed his eyes and the usual twinkle had dimmed incredibly. Tonks looked to be in the same condition, but she had an air of smugness to her. Teddy Tonks was perched comfortably on her lap, his head tucked in her hair. Remus had given up any hopes of fatherhood after the imprisonment of Teddy's godfather. He found a new way to cope, and was in no way fit to take care of a child. So Tonks lived with her almost seven year-old son in a small flat in Diagon Alley.

Mad-eye too looked rather amused by the current position of the Headmaster.

Nothing bad had happened, so why were they all being called to the Burrow? With every personne Dumbledore grew more anxious, all of them were in for a shock, except maybe Severus, oh and the Weasley twins. He contemplated the possible outcomes of such news. There was going to be horrified looks, probably a few outbursts, some guilt stricken faces, and tears. Yet Albus couldn't help but wonder out of everyone who would be the most affected. He placed his bets on Remus. Then again Hermione might get emotional. He thought about Ron, but quickly dismissed the notion, he was never all that loyal to begin with.

Finally everyone was seated, excited whispering broke out around the magically enlarged table. Everyone was curious. Only a seriously urgent meeting would be called so late at night. Finally Ron spoke up, practically growling at his old headmaster, "Why are we here Albus?" Ron had obtained a high ministry position and thought much to highly of himself. One could say he had taken on the role as the new Percy. Percy had at least, in Dumbledore's opinion, been respectful of his elders. Albus frowned at the youngest Weasley male.

"It's about Harry Potter." Murmuring broke out once again. Ron had jumped from his seat at the name.

"Don't ever mention that murdering bastard in my family's house!" Everyone was taken by surprise when instead of being admonished by Dumbledore, Tonks stood from her seat, waking up Teddy from his comfortable position on her lap.

"Don't you ever call him that again you piece of scum! Do you want to know why? Because he's innocent! I-N-N-O-C-E-N-T!" Tonks was breathing heavily, and her hair was a flaming red. Ron who at first was taken aback by the outburst, was slowly turning closer to Tonks shade of red.

"Says who? Huh? He was proven guilty, wasn't he?" Ron sneered at the older woman. Now Tonks smirked, a Slytherin worthy smirk. Ron obviously thinking that Tonks silence meant he was winning the argument, sat back down. Fred Weasley shook his head at his brother's own stupidity, that smirk meant trouble. Tonks to sat back down, now even more excited for the announcement. She nodded to Dumbledore, who in turn took his place at the head of the table.

"As I was saying," Dumbledore directed a glare at Ron, who had the tendency to look sheepish. "We're here because of Harry Potter. His innocence was proven a few hours ago. The last known Death Eater was captured last night, when brought in for questioning, he admitted to setting up a ploy to land Harry in Azkaban, it was punishment for defeating their Lord." Everyone sat in stunned in silence. Remus paled, and his eyes grew wide with horror. He mumbled incoherently but summed it up best with his last statement: "Shit."

Goerge Weasly stared at them incredulously.

"You guys actually looked surprised!" he growled not bothering to hide his frustration and obvious anger. The very pregnant Hermione huffed in annoyance,

"How were we supposed to know he was innocent? All the evidence pointed towards him!" This was met with another round of nods. Now it was the ex-auror's turns to get mad. "Evidence? I hardly count the flimsy excuses the Ministry made as evidence! You should have stood up for him." Mad-Eye had one scarred finger pointed at the witch and the other on his wand. His artificial eye was swiveling around its socket, waiting for the others reaction. Ron stood up on reflex.

"Don't point that thing at my wife." He threatened. Fred laughed.

"Don't be stupid Ron, you condemned your best friend to Azkaban, _I'm_ coming close to hexing you into the next century." Fred responded mirthlessly. Tonks snickered at this, but sobered up after realizing the source of their conversation.

"Sit Down!" Dumbledore ordered calmly, but his eyes glowered angrily at everyone in the room. Such a reaction was rare for the old man. Everyone sat down begrudgingly. If looks could kill, Ron would be long gone.

"Now someone has to accompany me to release him from Azkaban tomorrow morning at the earliest convenience." Dumbledore stated, his eyes surveying the room taking in everyone's reactions. Molly Weasley looked rather distressed at the thought that her once adapted son would soon join them. Remus looked sullen, probably worrying about the argument his dead friend's son would have with him.

Ron was worried about his position at the ministry, he had been offered the position as a thank you for capturing Harry Potter. If he had in fact captured an innocent man, he would likely be stripped of his position and authority.

Only Mad-Eye looked to be utterly depressed. He for one knew the condition the prisoners of Azkaban came out in. It was disgusting. Sunken eyes, hollow cheekbones, skin so pale it was almost transparent, bones jutted out at awkward angles. Their voices were raspy and dry. Breathing shallow, like every breath brought in was more pain then it was worth. He had seen all kinds of convicts, but after Azkaban they were all the same, empty.

He was brought out of his thoughts by a deep voice,

"Well Dumbledore I don't think that will be necessary." It drawled pleasantly.

Everyone turned to face the voice. Everybody's mouths dropped open in shock, Hermione fainted off her chair, and Molly burst in to hysterical tears.

There leaning nonacolantly in the doorway of the Burrow was none other than the source of the conversation. Harry Potter.

**Chapter 2 everybody! I hope you enjoyed! Any advice or commentary please leave a review. Thank you**

**-BellaCapucino**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks to plums, Bellatrix-Forgive, Slytherin66, AirGearisthewayoflife, ..86, Dark Dragen, Le Diablo Blanc2, Goldencoyote and Stalking Slaskedukke for the awesome reviews! I hoped you like this chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING!**

Chapter 3:

Every head swivelled in the direction of the voice. Mad-Eye's artificial eye almost popped out of his socket as he stared at the young man before him.

Fred and Goerge had identical (well duh) looks of shock on their faces. Hermione had fainted clean off her chair, and Molly Weasley had burst into tears, Mr. Weasley was comforting his weeping wife. The rest of the Weasleys were staring at Harry in utter disbelief. Ginny looked at the man she had once thought she loved in disbelief. Tonks had a huge grin on her face, and Teddy was staring around in confusion at everyone's shocked faces. As for Harry he was finding this every bit as amusing as he had planned it to be. As he surveyed the room with a cool calculated look his mind was racing a mile a minute. These were the people that through him in Azkaban. _Probably thought I was too far gone after six years to even talk. _Nobody had spoken, and the silence was border line awkward.

As he stood there staring at the familiar face of the Order of Phoenix the memories from that night flooded his mind. He soon found himself standing outside Hogwarts. It had been a beautiful night, you could see each of the stars outlining the sky. He had to meet Ginny in an hour for their date. He was ecstatic. With Voldemort gone he would finally have the opportunity to enjoy his life without checking his back for Death Eaters. Those were the thoughts going through one Harry Potter' s head on August 23 six years ago. How very wrong he had been.

The last thing he remembered was darkness. Never ending darkness. It was swallowing him up, he was drowning, falling through nothingness. He willed himself to wake up. It was all a nightmare.

Then just as soon as it had come the darkness disparated. Everything brightened and he honestly wished he had stayed trapped in darkness.

The colours were invading his senses. Crackling embers and screams resounded in his head. Everything was ringing. He was only capable of forming one coherent thought._ Fire._ He wanted to shut the world out, curl into himself and retreat to his subconscious. But he didn't. He would never forget the sight that lay before him. The image was horrendous.

The hut was on fire. Everything was crackling and blackening as the fire took over the last ruminants of the small house of Rebeus Hagrid. Hermione had tears pouring down her face, eyes blotchy from crying she cast spell after spell to tame the ever-growing flames. Ron was wildly flaying his arms in elaborated gestures as he cast a spell. The whole Weasley clan was working at a furious pace, casting every spell that could be used in such a situation. It was only when the fire had all but been put out, that the Weasleys and Hermione turned to the saviour of the wizarding world. But it was only when Ginny looked at Harry with what one could only describe as disgust that he realised what had happened. He never got to finish that train of thought, because he blacked out. Only to be awakened in the Ministry of Magic twenty three hours later for his mock trial. According to the daily prophet he was driven insane by the destiny that had been laid out before him and found refuge in the dark arts. After his last stand against Voldemort he had failed to come to terms with the normalcy of the wizarding world and was truly driven past the breaking point. _Typical._

He hadn't spoken a word in his defense at the trial. He had sat, chained to the wooden throne with an impassive face. Every word that was spit in his face only reinforced the steely determination in his eyes. Very few had seen the hard gaze, the calculated look in his eyes as he observed and re-evaluated each and everyone that testified against him. His steely resolve almost broke when Ron and Hermione took the stand and began to testify. His mask had began to crack. He fought to try and regain control of his swirling emotions.

His last words to his "friends" had been: "I would try to redeem yourselves now, because you'll be spending the rest of your life in Hell for this."

He never looked back as he left the ministry, because the only thing looking back at him would be the faces of those who betrayed him, all twisted into ugly snarls and sneers, eyes clearly displaying their disgust for his actions and morals. He had reached rock bottom, and he didn't deserve their sympathy.

Oo0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0oO

Harry Potter was brought out of his darkening thoughts, by a quiet timid voice.

"Hi I'm Teddy. What's your name?" This brought everyone out of their trance, and all looked at Harry in expectation and fear. _God their thick! What do they think I'm going to do Avra Kedavra my godson!_ Teddy stared at the strange man with a small smile on his face.

"Hello Teddy, I'm Harry Potter. Shouldn't you be in bed young man?"

Harry was staring pointedly at Tonks. She got the message and ushered Teddy upstairs to one of the many spare bedrooms of the Burrow. He continually muttered about not being able to talk to the nice man Harry. Once she came back down Harry's friendly, nonchalant demeanour had vanished. It had been replaced by a stony unforgiving stare. Everyone suddenly got very nervous. Even Dumbledore looked a little stumped for how to continue. Luckily Harry solved that problem.

"So how has been everyone these _long six years_."

His voice was cold but it was underlined with unmistakable anger. Every single member of the order was unable to answer such a simple question under the scrutinizing gaze of the saviour of the wizarding world. When no one seemed willing to answer. Harry continued.

"Well I have to say my life has been considerably tough. Now that I think about it, I can't remember what I did to deserve it." He practically spit the last part out. Everyone was growing increasingly anxious. He knew he was seconds away from a very large and way overdue screaming match. The silence was gritting on his nerves. Everybody's gazes were lingering anywhere but him, his former friends were sneaking glances at each other when they thought he wasn't looking. Mrs. Weasley had finally stopped crying but kept her eyes on her lap, and her head down.

Harry had finally had enough.

"Awww common! Doesn't anyone want to insult me? Slap me?" His eyes lingered on Ginny. "Sneer at me? Spit at me? Tell me I'm a disgrace?" He was breathing hard now. His built up anger was back and it was on full force now, they would have hell to pay if they tried to stop him now.

Again Silence. It was infuriating. Why had he even bothered to drop by. _Well what exactly did you expect? You wrought in Azkaban for six years, then show up at their house and all you get is silence. Typical. _A small voice chided him in the back of his head. Maybe he was a little more far-gone than he had originally thought.

"Hmmm, still no reaction. What a pity. I'll just be leaving." He practically sneered at them. He was halfway out on the lawn before the first one of them sprang into action. That just happened to be the metamorphous with the now pink hair. She stopped him by tapping his shoulder and leading him back into the house.

_At least I got them to react._ When they re-entered the dining room everybody had composed themselves, though Mrs. Weasly's eyes were still blotchy from crying. Hermione had propped herself in a more comfortable position a hand on her swollen stomach. Ron had a protective arm around her. His eyes following Harry's every move.

"So now that I have your attention does anyone want to tell me why nobody's tried to hold me at wand point." He demanded only half jokingly, the cold stony glare had once again taken it's place on his emotionless face.

"You were proven innocent." Ginny mumbled so quietly, one would have thought that from across the room Harry wouldn't have heard it. But he did.

He gave a dry humourless laugh, it sent shivers crawling up everyone's spine.

"So someone says I'm guilty, then I'm no better than the scum on the bottom of your shoe, everybody treats me like shit and throws me Azkaban. Someone says I'm innocent everybody takes a guilt trip. Some friends you were, taking the Ministry's word over your friend of seven years!" Everybody winced as his words stung. He was fuming, his voice was rising but he didn't care, they were going to get what he should have given them six years ago in court.

"I was proven innocent, Yes. But it wouldn't have mattered because my sentence finishes in three weeks." Everybody looked to Mad-Eye and Dumbledore for conformation. When they got it, they turned back to Harry.

"Harry." Molly started tentatively. "We're all very sorry."

Harry smirked. A truly evil smirk, one that that everybody in the room had never imagined to be present on the handsome face of the boy they once thought they knew. He had changed. Harry knew this, he had changed for the better. No longer the always trusting, always helping and smiling in the face of the death young boy he had been. He was a man who had experienced and survived more than most could claim in their old age. Twenty-four years old. Not even middle aged and he had lost everything he had once knew. Everything. Yet here he was standing in front of everyone who had betrayed him, glaring at them all defiantly.

Harry scoffed.

"Sorry to you know how many times I've heard that? Well I'll tell you it's come to mean little to me." He said waving his hand.

"Harry" "You have to know" "That we always" "believed in your" "innocence!"

The twins exclaimed in one wild rushed breath. Harry's smirk never faded. Just when they thought the conversation was going to heat up once again.

"I know." He said simply, leaving everybody with expressions of confusion.

"I also know that Tonks, Mad-Eye, Severus Snape, Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood all believed in my innocence. Besides that the rest of you are no better than what you treated me as. Shit." He stated simply not wavering from his impassive mask.

"What are you doing here? If you were released, why did you come back?" Tonks asked tentatively, hoping for more information. At this Harry's face broke into a massive grin. Startling everybody with the sudden change in his mood, Harry went on to explain.

"Well Azkaban wasn't all for nothing." Everybody looked dubious at this. "You see I met some very interesting characters, well one of them was released not to long ago, we were really close. I wanted to visit her and well she's located not to far from here. On my way I thought I'd drop in, I figured you'd have a meeting about the utterly surprising news." His voice was dripping with sarcasm.

Before anyone could reply the fireplace gave a low whoosh, signalling that someone was arriving by floo powder. Severus Snape stepped through the floo, robes billowing around him he entered the dining room. He took one look at Harry and plastered a look of exaggerated shock on his face. At this Harry broke down laughing, Snape's lips twitched upwards at the shocked face around the room.

He stepped up to Harry and took his hand. Harry having none of that gave Snape a one armed hug. Surprising everybody even further, including Snape. He didn't pull away, just held onto the young man. When they both pulled back, Snape looked over Harry thoughtfully.

"Long time no see." Harry spoke still grinning.

"You look good, for a convict." Snape responded. Harry's grin grew at the on running joke between the two men. He looked around to find everyone still staring at him.

"Yes?" Snape asked politely. Half had there mouths hanging open, all resembled fish. Eyes bulging Remus sat down trying to catch his breath. Hermione looked like she was going to hyperventilate. Fred and Goerge looked thoughtful. While Dumbledore just looked like a tired old man.

"Harry when did you in Snape get so close?" Hermione spluttered indignantly. Talking for the first time.

"Well you see that is a long story. One that will be shared on one of my many other visits." His voice was laced with malice, promised future visits looked about enough to scare the entire Weasley clan, save the twins.

With that he stepped into the musty old fireplace. Preparing himself for the feeling of flooing, he took a handful of floo powder.

The only words were those resounding off the room, still ringing in everyone's head were the last words of Harry Potte, as he stepped into the floo.

_Lestrange Manor._

Everything went dead silent.

**Please review! I don't know if I will continue this story because of the lack of reviews! Only time will tell! Hope you enjoyed this chapter, not much excitement I know, but it will get better, sorry for leaving you guys with another cliff hanger.**

**-BellaCapucino**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: OMG thanks to everyone who reviewed, or me added to favorites and alerts.**

**Please I need ideas on where to take this story I have the main plot idea, but if there's something you don't understand or you have a question. Leave a review or PM.**

**This chapter is 3k+! You said you wanted longer! I'm trying to meet all the requests ! Bellatrix will appear in the next chapter, this is what happened at the trial, but not the murder I think everyone got the general idea. It's from Fred's POV.**

_-Flashback_

Chapter 4: Only Harry would find a way.

Fred stumbled into his flat followed by his brother. It was past midnight, chaos had insuned as soon as Harry left. More questions were asked but even less were answered. As soon as Harry left the Burrow was turned into a mass of confusion and outrage. But once everything had quieted…

"_Did he just say Lestrange?" Remus asked, his voice barely above a whisper._

_Everyone turned to Snape, he seemed to be the one with most knowledge on their little predicament. He nodded affirmative. This only caused more chaos, voices rang out._

_Everyone was trying to be heard over each other. Finally Dumbledore amplified his voice as to direct their attention towards him._

"_Silence! Now I know the situation is just a little confusing," Most snorted in agreement. "but I'm sure everything will be revealed with time. All your questions will be answered eventually." He stated calmly, though his blue eyes had lost any reminiscence of spark._

_Everyone seemed to calm down at his words, though a few glanced around nervously, unsure what to say about the current "predicament"._

"_Well how did he get out of Azkaban? I thought he was getting out tomorrow?" asked Hermione, her curiosity finally getting the best of her._

"_It seems that one of the guards received release papers earlier this evening and retrieved the prisoner." Dumbledore gravely._

_Noticing Dumbledore's grim expression as he relayed the news most began to worry._

"_What's so bad about a guard letting him out?" Molly asked quietly._

"_Because Molly, the Azkaban prison guards aren't allowed to release prisoners without being accompanied by aurors from the ministry or a person of high authority in the Ministry. It shouldn't have been possible either, Harry was in one of the best-guarded cells, one that only a very high ranked ministry auror can access."_

_Again dead silence._

"_So someone from inside the ministry released him?"_

_Dumbledore shook his head negative, eyebrows creased with worry, pinching the bridge of his nose, the great Albus Dumbledore sighed in defeat. He was much too old to deal with this amount of stress so late at night._

"_No it would seem that someone on the inside managed to manipulate the whoever was guarding his cell."_

_Stunned silence as everyone contemplated his words._

_Everyone was soon dismissed, and the Burrow was quiet once more._

The twins leaned on each other heavily, eyes drooping from exhaustion and lack of sleep. Their business had thrived, making it one of the most invested shops in Diagon Alley. People from around the world came just to visit the newly renovated joke shop. Kids streamed in non-stop, laughter emanated from every corner of the room, kids testing out the newest products. Parents watching amusingly as the kids browsed through the shop, their eyes widening at the newest inventions. Shrieks of surprise and delight, giggles from the hormone crazed teenage girls as they searched for the Wonder Witch products. It was exactly the way they wanted it.

No matter how much the world changed, pranks still brought laughter to people.

No matter what the wizarding world had endured, Fred and Goerge always managed to bring smiles to people's faces.

Fred wasn't thinking about his shop though. No.

He was thinking about the man who had made their dreams possible. The man who had made the first investment. The man who turned their fantasy into reality.

The same man who had appeared at the Burrow, smirking evilly and gazing at them with a look that screamed "I know something you don't!" Three hours ago.

The same man who had endured a trial on August twenty fourth, in front of the whole Ministry panel. I mean who would want to miss the imprisonment of the Boy-Who-Lived?

_August twenty-fourth._

_It was a beautiful sunny day, the birds were singing, the sky was blue…_

_Not even close._

_It was in the sublevels of the Ministry that the whole Weasley family sat, anxiously awaiting the news of one Harry soon-to-be-convict Potter. They had managed to calmed the fire that had been set to Hagrid's hut. Sadly they hadn't arrived in time. Hagrid's corpse lay under the debris from the fallen hut. His face ashen black from the smoke, eyes wide and unblinking, his mouth open in shock, forehead crinkled in confusion as the flames claimed his last breath._

_Ginny face was twisted in anger. Her face was blotchy from crying. But her eyes were filled with determination. Her sadness at the betrayal had melted away, only to be replaced by anger for the man she had once loved. _

_Ron was comforting a sobbing Hermione. _

"_We trusted him." She muttered over and over again. Ron's mouth was contorted into an ugly sneer, eyes showing nothing but contempt for his former friend._

_Molly and Arthur leaned onto each other for support as they waited for news on the convict that had once been welcomed as a son in their home._

_Bill Weasley sat comforting his wife. While Charlie sat next to Ginny, a comforting arm around her shoulders. He sat with a grim expression on his face, knowing the impact such a betrayal would have on his family._

_As for Fred and George, they sat calmly surveying the room around them. There usual smiling faces, were grim. There foreheads were creased with worry, there lips so thin McGonagall would have been jealous. Anyone looking at them would have simply thought they were grieving over the betrayal of a friend. But they were far from it. They were thinking about the most creative ways to break out someone out of Azkaban. They knew it would never work, but it kept them distracted from the expressions of betrayal and loss on everyone's faces. It kept them from going over there and slapping some sense into them. _

_The presence of the ministry official startled Fred out of his thoughts._

"_He's being kept in one of the lower levels of the Ministry, minister Fudge feels that in the light of the past events he would be too dangerous to keep in the standard confinement tank." The ministry official said in a bored voice. At his words Hermione burst into tears. The man didn't show any reaction to Hermione's sudden show of emotion. He simply stared blankly a head of him._

"_Would any of you like to testify against him?" he drawled, clearly expected them to refuse. His only show of emotion was when Ginny, Hermione and Ron stood abruptly. He looked at them in surprise, before turning his back on them and muttering about "so called loyal friends". Even Fred had to smirk at the man's obvious disdain for his siblings actions. _

_They entered the courtroom to find Minister Fudge and Amelia Bones at the podium. Drawing up to his full height, the Minister of Magic addressed the panel of judges._

"_We are here upon the recent events of one Rebeus Hagrid's death. Such a tragedy can not go without punishment! There fore I have called a trial to make sure that the personne responsible fro such an act will be rightly punished." There were many nods of approval at his words._

_Fudge nodded at the two aurors at the far corner of the room. They retreated from the room, and within a few minutes were back dragging none other than Harry Potter._

_They roughly bound him to the chair, all the while wearing stony masks wich were acquired when dealing with criminals. _

"_Harry James Potter, you have been sentenced to Azkaban for the pitiful time of a life sentence, for the use of dark magic, use of the unforgivables, and the murder of Rebeus Hagrid, Hogwarts staff member." Minister Fudge spoke with superiority and a sneer that said he was currently enjoying throwing the savior of the wizarding world in Azkaban._

_Harry looked up, slowly lifting his stiff neck. _

_He stared directly at the minister, eyes empty of any emotion but contempt. _

_Fred understood what that gaze meant. The wizarding world had fallen back into old habits. Or rather had fallen back onto the shoulders of an incompetent minister._

_Harry didn't say anything in his defence just stared. Clearly flustered by the lack of response the minister muttered something before shuffling through his papers._

"_Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger have willingly volunteered to testify."_

_There it was, the tiniest crack in what was otherwise a stony mask. Harry looked in their general direction. His emerald eyes took on a new emotion. Betrayal. _

_Ron took the stand first with a smug smile, never taking her eyes off the raven haired man. Harry kept his gaze trained on Ron, his eyes burning with renewed strength. His knuckles were white from the firm grip he kept on the chair. Preventing him from doing any physical harm to his "best friend"._

_Grinding his teeth together Fred waited to hear what his brother was going to wrongfully accuse Harry of._

"_I believe his fascination with the dark arts started in fourth year. When the Death Eater Barty Crouch Jr. demonstrated the use of the unforgivable in class, I saw it by the way his eyes glazed over ever so slightly, the way he remained enraptured by the power the Dark Arts could give someone. It only worsened in the fifth year, he started researching the Dark Arts, and by the end of the year he had endangered five of Hogwarts students, including myself and hermione, by bringing us to the Department of Mysteries. Then when we were on the hunt for Horcruxes, he used Imperio several times and I believe he tried to use Avra Kedavra on more than one occasion._

_Not to mention the only other wizard to ever brake into Gringotts was Lord Voldermort himself." Fred almost laughed at the notion, Ron seemed to have conveniently forgotten that he was with him at the break in._

_Hermione walked up to the spot Ron had just vacated, not the slightest bit nervous as she started spouting lies of every shape and size. Her earlier actions seemed surreal as Fred took notice of her calm confident face._

"_I believe that Harry always had some sort of fascination with the Dark Arts. It only started to develop more in the fourth year, his aunt and uncle's lack of love and terrible treatment led him to seek refuge and dabble in the Dark Arts at an early age. I have to agree with Ron though, it wasn't prominent until we went on the Horcrux hunt. He started using any means to accomplish the task, becoming almost obsessed with the idea of ridding the world of the Voldemort." Many people flinched "So he could take his place as the next great Dark Lord." _

_Harry's head snapped up at that, shock clearly etched on his face. He opened his mouth as if to say something but closed it just as quickly. _

_Hermione walked off, bushy frizzy brown locks bouncing with new enthuisiasm at the prospect of ridding the world of the future Dark Lord. _

_Remus than went to explain that he was depressed after Sirius's death, and even went as far as too straight out tell him that his parents sacrifice was for nothing._

_Molly started to speak about how he was always suspiscious at the Burrow, but promptly burst into tears. _

_Harry throughout all of this just stared, a calm defiant look. It sent chills up Fred's spine and he knew that they would have Hell to pay for every word, insult and accusation. All the insults were going to be thrown back in their faces. That look wasn't one of defeat, but one of revenge._

"_I would try to redeem yourselves now, because you'll be spending the rest of your life in Hell for this."_

_Those words rang in his ears, because those weren't the words of someone who had lost everything. Those were the words of someone who had lost everything and didn't care if he never got it back._

As Fred contemplated the events that took place six years ago. Someone else was wondering… How could have the Order meeting have gone any better?

ooooooOOO000000OOOOooooooo

"It was priceless." Snape chuckled as he pictured the shocked expressions as he and Harry had embraced like old friends. Neville joined in as he was told the nights past events.

"How did the old man take it?" He asked wiping tears of mirth from his eyes.

"Not quite sure, he was quiet. Knowing him he probably figuring out how to buy the next batch of lemon drops without McGonagall finding out."

Neville couldn't help but smile at Snape's sense of humour. Just then Luna Lovegood walked… more like glided in to the room in a dreamy trance.

"Hello Neville, Snape." She said in a sing song voice that only Luna could pull off. She then proceeded to planted a kiss on Neville's cheek before sashaying into the kitchen. Neville gazed longily at her. Snape's deep laugh brought him out of his thoughts.

"You have it bad!" He chastised in a mocking tone.

Neville just gave Snape an annoyed look before getting up to help his girlfriend with dinner. Snape sniggered, sombering up after remembering what they were here to talk about.

Snape's thoughts were centered around the emerald eyed man.

He was feeling rather pleased with himself, they're performance was altogether quite entertaining, the confused and shocked looks only added to the fun.

Snape remembered how everyone had reacted to Harry's arrest, to say that he was disgusted was an understatement. They treated him like scum. Nobody talked about him for years, erasing him completely from their lives. What everyone seemed to have forgotten is that Harry was the reason why they were still living and breathing. He was the reason why the wizarding was still standing. He had given them a chance to redeem themselves and start over. Construct better paths for the future generations. He was in a way, part of the wizarding world.

What had they done instead? Throw him in Azkaban. What a great way to thank the wizarding world saviour!

Snape's thoughts drifted to the first time he had visited Azkaban over six years ago.

_Snape's robes billowed around him, as he made the steep climb to the impenetrable fortress. Squinting as he tried to protect himself from the rain with a few charms._

_Only when he arrived at the Azkaban gates did the situation really hit him._

_He was visiting a Potter, the Potter who he had brought constant misery to while in school. The same Potter who saved his life from the wrath of Voldemort. _

_Shaking himself out of his thoughts, he climbed the staircase followed by two aurors._

"_Highest level" the man grunted almost incoherently._

_The highest level? Isn't that where they kept… No they wouldn't put him with some of the most highly dangerous, and highly deranged ex-Death Eaters. Would they?_

_This is Fudge were talking about. A voice chided knowingly. Sadly Snape had to agree._

_As he approached the higher levels, maniacal laughter floated to his ears. Screams made shivers run up his spine, and he wanted nothing more than to turn back and run. The eerie voices and half deranged pleads did nothing to calm his nerves._

_As they approached the furthest cell, the eerie calm that seemed to over take this cell frightened him more than screams. The guards stood at the other end of the hallway waiting for him to return. He peered into the cell. The walls were covered in grime, markings had been made to pass the time. The floor was covered in nothing more than rag, but what drew his attention wasn't the dirt covered cell, but the man who was cowering in the far corner. His raven untameable hair, was now matted with dirt and blood. His body frame was so fragile it looked breakable, bones were jutting out at awkward angles. Every raspy breath sent the figure into hacking coughs._

_Snape wanting to make his presence known to the convict, lightly tapped the cell bars._

_The man before him slowly turned around. Gone. That was the first word that came to mind as Snape looked into the empty sunken eyes. The eyes that once were the gate way to his emotions were void. They were unfocused at first and then seemed to zero in on the man before him. Confusion then apprehension flickered across his face before he went back into a dazed trance._

"_Um… Harry I don't know… if well you can hear me, but…um…well I know your innocence… I know you didn't dabble in the "Dark Arts", his voice was thick with sarcasm as he said the last part. "I know you didn't kill Hagrid." He whispered._

_Harry looked at Snape with understanding, and then laughed. Laughed. Harry Potter was laughing in Azkaban. He had truly lost it._

"_Great I'm talking to a deranged lunatic." He murmured solemnly. Harry stopped his hysterical, slightly insane maniacal laughter, sobering up as if remembering where he was. He spoke, though his voice was raspy it held a tone of thoughtfulness._

"_Don't you think it's funny that my best friends of seven years and my adopted family condemned me to Azkaban. Yet the only one who believes in my innocence is the greasy git of a potion professor. Not to mention he actually bothered to visit me in my derange state of mind."_

_Snape had to smirk at that, for it was true. He was staring into Lily's eyes for the first time in seven years and wasn't feeling any regret or contempt. Only the urge to help Harry, not because he was Potter. Not because he was Lily's son, because he was Harry. He had done and suffered so much for them and he never received anything in return. The worst part, he did everything to help them expecting nothingin return. Nothing. Always Nothing. What infuriated Snape the most was that everyone who had stood by him in the war suddenly decided that the boy, well man, had served his purpose and locked him up. Out of sight out of mind._

_It was this sudden revelation that had Snape visiting Harry every three months and every Christmas. Everytime he visited he would perform a small charm that could be done without a wand, it helped keep Harry in a stable condition until the next visit. What surprised Snape the most however is that Harry seemed to grow a resistance to the effects of Dementors. The fourth time Snape had decided to drop by he came during one of the Dementor's visits. Harry was slumped against the wall muttering under his breath, tears were streaming down his face. His breath was ragged and he crumpled as his body went limp, still relieving the nightmares that were his memories._

_The Dementor attacks grew less numbered, he developed a healthier frame of mind and somehow found a way to use his Occlumency shields as a way to escape the terrifying visions._

_After two years, Neville expressed his concern for Harry in a heated discussion at one of the Hogwarts staff meetings. Snape then approached him about visiting Harry in Azkaban. Neville jumped at the chance to show Harry he believed in his innocence. Snape explained Harry's current condition, and Neville's eyes shone with mirth. _

"_Only Harry would find a way." He muttered shaking his head._

What awaited them in Azkaban was nothing less than shocking. The image was forever burned into the back of Snape's mind. He shuddered, _not_ pleasant.

**I hoped you liked it! R&R please!**

**-BellaCapucino**


End file.
